Grad Contracts
A Johnston Grad Contract outlines what a student studies at Johnston. It is made up of a narrative and a course list. The narrative is a short outline of what subjects the student wants to integrate and what they want to learn. The course list includes courses that have already been taken and courses that will be taken in order to fulfill the learning outlined in the narrative.
A grad contract needs to satisfy the breath and depth expectations of the College of Arts and Sciences. Breadth means studying a broad array of subjects and fields (math, science, literature, religion, etc.). Traditional CAS students fulfill their breadth requirements by completing courses in the Liberal Arts Foundation (LAF). A Johnston student can negotiate how sufficient breadth will be achieved. Depth means having a deep understanding of the particular subjects that one wants to study. Traditional CAS students fulfill their depth requirement by completing a major. A Johnston student's depth comes in a personally designed emphasis.
A grad contract also needs to include a cross cultural experience (CCE). Most students fulfill their CCE by traveling abroad usually in either their Junior or Senior years. A CCE is an opportunity in which the student experiences first-hand a culture that is not their own and helps them to understand the world from a cultural context outside of what they already know.
For a grad contract to be passed the student goes before a Grad Contract Committee. The committee consists of the student's advisor, three other professors, and two Johnston students who have already had their grad contract passed. The committee reads the narrative before the meeting and asks the student questions about what they want to study and why and gives them ideas on how to increase their breadth and depth and gives them extra options to consider. If the committee feels that there is an integral component left out of the narrative and/or course list, the committee can make a stipulation (a demand of sorts) which the student must agree to before the contract is approved.
Read more about this topic: Johnston Center For Integrative Studies
Famous quotes containing the word contracts:
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—Charles Horton Cooley (1864–1929)